Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka eases past Shelby Rogers into third round

No.5 seeded Aryna Sabalenka's stunning start to the year continued as she notched a triumph over dangerous Shelby Rogers to reach the third round of the ongoing 2023 Australian Open on Thursday.

It took one hour and 27 minutes for Sabalenka to overpower Rogers 6-3, 6-1 here at Rod Laver Arena.

In their two prior meetings, both in 2022, Sabalenka had triumphed over Rogers, the world's number 51. On Cincinnati's hardcourts, however, Rogers had pushed Sabalenka to 6-4 in the third set. Furthermore, Rogers has defeated three Top 10 opponents at Grand Slam events, including Ashleigh Barty, the former World No. 1 at the US Open in 2021.

Rogers was able to score first, grabbing a 3-1 lead in an opening set full of drawn-out games, despite Sabalenka saving roughly 80% of the break points she had faced throughout her strong start to the year.

In the beginning of the opening set, Sabalenka hit some unrefined forehands, but she improved as the game went on, putting extra force behind her backhand service returns. Overall, the No. 5 seed won five straight games to seize the one-set advantage.

In the second set, Sabalenka saved a break point and held for a 1-1 tie by slamming a backhand winner. From that point on, she was unaffected and won the match with a backhand crosscourt shot.

Sabalenka will lock horns with former regular doubles partner, No.26 seed Elise Mertens, in the third round battle. Mertens of Belgium set up the Sabalenka meeting by beating Lauren Davis of America 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted one hour and 12 minutes.

"It was a great match. Always a tough opponent to play against, and I'm super happy that I was able to finish this game in two sets," WTA.com quoted Sabalenka as saying after her win.

( With inputs from ANI )